Wagon-jack



'Patented Mar. 2

J; J. ADGATE." WAGON JAGK.

NVENTOH l BY/Am I (No Model.)

i UNITED STATES PATENT ilvfrrrcE.

JOSEPH J. ADGATE, OF LIBERTY, NEW YORK.

WAGON-JACK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 578,033, dated March 2,1897.

Application filed December 16, 1896. Serial No. 615,840. (No model.)

T 0 /LZZ wton t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH J. ADGATE, of Liberty, Sullivan county, NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wagon-Jacks,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of wagonjacks wherein a detachablelever is used in connection with a standard having a plurality offulcr'um-bearings on which the lever may be adjusted at differentheights; and .myimprovements consist in the particulars hereinafterpointed out.

In the drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of the jack with thelever locked in a horizontal position. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of thesame, the end of the lever being broken off. Fig. 3 is a side elevationwith the lever locked in a suspended position, as when not in use; andFig. 4 is a top view of the foot, taken on the line m of Fig. 2, withone of the toes partly broken off.

In :referring to similar parts I have used the same reference-letters inall the figures.

A is the standard, which is preferably formed of cast metal, providedwith a splay foot B, supporting a ribbed upright O, which is surmountedby the head D. This head'D consists, essentially, of two thin parallelbars E E, increasing slightly in thickness toward ltheir bases, joinedby cross-braces, and each provided with a series of round holes e e e.to form bearings for the lever-hooks. These holes pass completelythrough the bars E E, and the formation is identical on both sides,

- so that the lever may be used equally well on either side of thestandard.

F is the lever, the truss-like formation of which combines lightness andstrength. This lever F is provided with thereversed hooks f g, which arecast integral with the lever, the openings in the lever below the hooksallowing the sand to draw, so that the casting may be done withoutcoring. It will be seen that the lever may be used with equal facilityon either side of the standard, the two series of holes c e c reversingtheir functions when the relative positions of the standard and leverare reversed. Thus the left-hand series of holes e e e in Figs. 2 and 3form fulcrum-bearings for the pivot-hook f when the lever is upon theside, as shown, while the right-hand series form seats for thelocking-hook g. If now the lever is placed upon the side of the standardnearest the observer, with the lever-handle toward'the left, theright-hand series of holes e c c will form the bearings for thepivot-hook fand the lefthand series of holes e ce will become seats vforthe locking-hook g. Thus by making the standard-head with similar sidesand so thin that the lever-hooks can pass completely through thehook-seats I am enabled to make the standard reversible and to give toeach series of hook-seats the dual functions already speciied. Thisreversibility of the standard greatly facilitates its use, as no care isnecessary in placing either edge foremost when using it, the leveralways being applicable to the right side of the standard as it maystand before the user.

Owing to the principles upon which the jack operates the connection ofthe leverhooks with their seats is not stable except when the forwardend of the lever is loaded. It is therefore important to providesuitable means for detachably attaching the lever to the standard whennot in use. To do this, I utilize the lever-hooks g f, and provide forthem suitable bearings or slotted seats on the standard, in which thehooks can be readily seated, so as to retain the lever in a positionreadily accessible for use.

At each end of the cross-brace h I form a recess't' between thecross-brace and the bar E, and on each side of the upright C, near itstop, I place an arm j, the end 7c of which approaches nearer than itsbase to the seat c' above it, the distance being somewhat less than thedistance from the under side of the lever-hook f to the under side ofthe leverhook g. When it is desired to fold the lever upon the standard,the lever is turned over, so that its under edge is uppermost, and isbrought up against the left side of the bar E nearest the user, with thefrontend elevated, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, and the hookf passing behind the bar E. The hand end of the lever is then droppedtill the hook g engages the outer edge of the bar E, in which positionthe lever, rocking over the hook g, will take a sliding grip on the barE, down which it will slip vertically until the hook g passes the pointZ and swings beneath IOO the inclined base of the bar E, when the handend of the lever will swing in against the upright C, entering the angleformed between the adjacent ribs, the arm j guiding the hook g until itlocks in the angle between the arm and the standard, when the hook fwill have found its seat t' and the lever will be securely folded intoplace. From this position the lever can only be unshipped by swingingthe hand end out and up, the hook q riding over the top 7c of the arm j,forcing the hook f up in its seat t', and continuing the movement untilthe hook f has entirely cleared its seat or until the lever has beenswung so nearly horizontal that the hook can be swung sidewise out ofthe seat. The reverse of this latter movement may be used in folding thelever, but it requires greater care and more nicety of adjustment thanthe method iirst described. Furthermore, the second method will resultin the hook g striking the end 71, of the arm j, over the rounded end ofwhich it will be carried by its own momentum or by additional pressure,raising the whole lever,to drop again after the point of the arm j hasbeen passed.

The lever can be folded with equal facility on either side of thestandard, either of the bars E serving equally well, and beingespecially adapted for the use described by its comparative thinness andby the parallelism of its edges.

By the means described I secure a jack which can be made complete withbut two pieces, and which is made completely reversible in operation bythe use of but two series of carrying-hook seats, the lever of which canbe simply and securely folded upon the standard and readily detached foruse when required.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. The combination, in a wagon-jack, of a lever, provided with afulcrum-hook and a locking-hook, relatively reversed near opposite edgesof the same side thereof, an upright standard, a standard-head embodyingtwo parallel bars each pierced by a series of lever-hook seats, eachseries of seats reversing its functions when the standard and lever arerelatively reversed, the standard being provided on each side withseparate slotted detaining-seats for the lever-hooks, wherein the leverwhen notin use may be locked, by its hooks, in a suspended verticalposition, substantially as described.

2. rlhe combination, in a wagon-jack, of an upright standard, providednear its top with branching arms, and supporting a standardhead,embodying two parallel bars, joined by an intermediate cross-brace, eachbar being pierced by a series of lever-hook seats, and having verticaledges, the inner edges descending to a hook-seat at the end of saidcross-brace, and the outer edge terminating above the end of one of thebranching arms, a lever, provided with a fulcruni-hook and alocking-hook, relatively reversed, near opposite edges of the same sidethereof, said hooks, when the lower edge of the lever is uppermost,being adapted to grasp the vertical edges of either of the standard-headbars, with a sliding grip, till the uppermost leverhook descends to theupper-hook seat, and then to permit the lever to swing into a verticalposition, and to be so held by the locking of the lower hook between thebranching arm and the standard-head, substantially as described.

3. The combination, in a wagon-jack, of a lever, provided with afulcrum-hook and a locking-hook, relatively reversed near opposite edgesof the same side thereof, an upright standard, a standard-head embodyingtwo parallel bars each pierced by a series of lever-hook seats, eachseries of seats reversing its functions when the standard and lever arerelatively reversed, the standard being provided on each side withseparate detaining-seats for the lever-hooks, wherein the same may belocked, by its hooks, in a suspended position, by swinging the leverfrom a horizontal into a vertical position, and from which it can onlybe unlocked by the reverse movement, substantially as described.

JOSEPH J. ADGATE.

Witnesses:

XVM. D. NEILLEY, JAS. F. GRAY.

